FWIW...my encouragement to others who are struggling

[stages3n4]

Going on about two months of therapy, and it really does get better. I don’t think that anything I’m going to write here is new, or that I’ve gone through anything that others have already gone through. But, just want to add a word of encouragement for all you out there who have been struggling like myself.

When I started therapy, I noticed some effect, but not much. Went from my constant state of lethargy to more of a peak and valley type tired; either I felt pretty good, or, more often, I felt more tired than ever. Prior to therapy, I would sleep the night through but due to events and periodic limb movement, never had good sleep. With therapy, I was finally getting some good sleep (actually dreaming and all), but was now waking up continuously with mask problems, leaking, just plain uncomfortable.

I am happy to say that the last four nights, I have had at least 5 hours of continuous sleep, with good numbers to boot! A couple of things I’ve read on here I have implemented, and they have made a difference. As I lay on my side, when I get into bed, I wedge a big pillow behind my back to stop myself from ending up on my back. Through testing different positions, on my back is the worse, very high AHI and AI on the back. Next, I’m a two pillow person for my head, and I had always put my nice soft pillow on top. I reversed that, so that my firm pillow is on top. This has made a difference in that my head doesn’t sink down into the pillow, which would then displace the mask. It still takes some strategic positioning, but with the firmer pillow on top and back pillow preventing rollover, I have found a way to get a longer period of good sleep.

I find I can switch between my Swift with taping, and the Hybrid, following Rooster’s instructions which are a must read for Hybrid users, and do pretty well with each (unless one or the other nostrils is blocked, at which point I strap on the Hybrid for sure).

I wish I could say that the tired feeling is all gone and I am just a bundle of energy these days, but that is not so. The biggest improvement though, and it is huge, is the constant headaches are no longer constant, overall decrease by about 90%. I had always put these down to sinus problems, but now I’m thinking that events and low oxygen sats were more the source of the problem here.

With the reading I’ve done on the effects of apnea, low oxygen saturation, and poor sleep on a person’s body, it’s just darn scary. The last couple of years leading up to therapy, I’ve had some things go on with myself that aren’t normally associated with some one in their 40’s. It’s always comforting to have your insurance provider tell you “we don’t cover that procedure until you’re over 50 unless is a medical necessity.” Depending on which side you look at it, either fortunately or unfortunately, they have been medically necessary.

After all this (sorry to bore you all) I want to urge all you out there struggling with this as I have, and I’m sure will continue to struggle, keep at it. It can and does get better. Is it easy? You already know the answer, no, it isn’t. Is it worth it, from what I can see and feel, yes, definitely!!!

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): swift, AHI

[BrensTiredMom]

As someone who's only recently been diagnosed and has not yet started with therapy I can tell you that reading your post means alot to me. I have been exhausted and ill for well over a year now and no one until recently had been able to tell me why. At 36 I feel as though I'm 80! I know that my diagnosis is only the first step and that I have a long road ahead of me but it's awesome to hear from people who've been through it before and ARE feeling better...it gives me alot of hope!

[Babette]

Thank you for your post, Stages3n4! I think that's a great help to us who are new.

Many thanks!
B.

[rested gal]

stages3n4, that was a wonderful message. Very happy to hear it's going better and better for you.

You're absolutely right. This (cpap therapy) is not easy. Takes not only determination, but also doing exactly what you and I and so many others who read this message board do -- read, learn, tweak those masks... and keep reading more and more and more.

[Wulfman]

With the reading I’ve done on the effects of apnea, low oxygen saturation, and poor sleep on a person’s body, it’s just darn scary.

This is definitely a motivating factor. AND, not wanting to go back to feeling like we did before therapy.

As far as wondering when I would start feeling "better", I just kept telling myself that I didn't get this way overnight and it was going to take awhile to get back to feeling something resembling "normal" again. Take each night/day at a time.

Best wishes,

Den

[Dark_Star]

Thanks for the kind and encouraging post..

I too have had a couple good 5 hr in a row nights sleeping.... I gotta tell you that it feels very good. Today my head doesn't feel like it is full of mush. It feels clear and lighter.

Any how.. last night my son asked if I can play with him and I immediately said YES! Seriously 2 months ago I would have said "in a few minutes".

So I am motivated to keep it up... keep reading and keep tweaking my gear to keep me going in the right direction!

[soulfixinman]

+1 to that, the last two nights I have made it through the whole night from about 10 pm to say 5 am with vpap on. Seems like I feel just a little bit less tired at this point, I wish I had a vpap that would show me the raw sleep data so I would know for sure if what I am doing is working.

everyones story helps us all, after all this is our support group!

[m1k2s3]

Hi stages3n4 -

As with many of the posts I read here, yours was very encouraging. I'm a new CPAP user (just started about 6 weeks ago).

The first few nights, I lasted about 3 hours, ripped the mask off and thought "there's no way I can do this". But my family has been a tremendous support and this website has been so helpful, I was determined to succeed.

The morning after I had my first full night using CPAP (about 7 hours), my husband asked me how I felt. I told him I felt a little tired but I also felt something else - something I wasn't used to feeling - I felt absolutely refreshed!!!! What a terrific feeling!! I said to my husband " so this is what everyone else feels like after a good nights sleep!"

I know there will be good sleeps and some bad ones too - but those good ones make it oh so worth it!


I would suggest anyone struggling with sleep apnea to keep working on it. And definitely refer to this site often. There are some really well informed and down right smart people who post here! There is terrific support out there - thanks to everyone who has posted here - it does truly help.